1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lock assembly, and more particularly, to a mechanical and electrical double-opening lock assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As digitization develops, the collection and compilation of necessary information from massive data are the most crucial subjects in the Digital Age. What also follows is the development of massive data storage devices such as conventional hard disks, disk arrays, flash drives, memory cards, cloud storage, etc. Such data storages have also become the most significant digital media at present days.
After placing the data storage devices such as portable hard disks, memory cards, etc. into hosts such as digital video recorders (DVR), servers, traffic cameras, or event data recorders, a mechanical lock opened/closed with a key is commonly configured in front of a data storage device slot of the host for data preservation considerations, so as to prevent the loss of critical images and data and to preserve important evidence. The mechanical lock is usually opened with the key only when necessary to remove the data storage device to access data. However, once the key of the mechanical lock is accidentally lost or bent and deformed, the user may not be able to open the mechanical lock to remove the data storage device to access data.
Particularly, for data storage devices for preserving evidence such as traffic cameras or event data recorders, since they usually operate by continuously saving data, previous data is overwritten after a certain time limit or after the full storage capacity is reached. To prevent previous data from being overwritten and critical data from being lost, it is thus necessary to have a backup lock-opening method for data storage device slots installed with safety locks. At present, when the key of the safety lock is lost or bent and deformed, a common method to open the lock is electrical control. Therefore, requirements for electrically controlled locks on data storage devices have also risen, so as to open the lock by electrical control when the user accidentally loses the key.
Generally speaking, electrically controlled unlocking methods are similar with conventional electrically controlled locks in apartments and buildings. By applying electric power, the lock bolt is withdrawn to open the door plate. However, in short, electrically controlled locks often are oversized and overweighed and are not suitable for common electronic products. Therefore, an unlocking method that solves the above issues is required.